1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns a package reclosing system and method and, more particularly, a package reclosure having a folded member that may be unfolded after a perforation is torn and then situated over an opening of a package in order to seal the package and its contents.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many flexible packaging containers have been developed for various products, especially food products that are consumed over an extended period of time. Such products include fast food from traditional fast-food restaurants, as well as snack products, such as potato chips, pretzels, popcorn, corn chips, cereals and the like.
Typically, it is important that the package be tightly reclosed in order to keep the remaining contents fresh for several days or weeks after the first opening of the package. At the same time, it is desirable to keep the cost of the package low.
In some instances, the package is provided within a stiffer protective carton, while in other cases it is a heavier gauge material sufficiently strong to protect the contents without an outer carton. Of course, in traditional fast food restaurants, paper packaging is typically used.
Traditionally, a user would open the package, remove some or all of the contents and then reclose the package until the user desires to remove more of the contents at some point in the future.
Usually, folding the flexible package is generally not sufficient because the package does not have sufficient xe2x80x9cmemoryxe2x80x9d and, therefore, the package tends to open by itself when on a storage shelf or in a refrigerator, for example.
Many consumers have resorted to using Scotch-Tape(copyright) or a rubber band to hold the folded portion in place, but it is generally inconvenient because such devices are not always readily at hand.
In another consumer product, tape-tabs are used to fasten a disposable baby diaper around the infant. These tape-tabs are multi-part devices which are applied to the moveable end of the product, so that the moveable end may be secured in place on another portion of the diaper. In one sense, the baby diaper can be considered a xe2x80x9cpackagexe2x80x9d to contain the baby. Prior practice had been the use of safety pins or other non-associated closing devices. In the more recent past, the tape-tabs have been developed with a xe2x80x9creclosablexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cre-fastenablexe2x80x9d feature that permits the diaper to be opened, the baby to be examined, and the diaper to be closed several times. In such a xe2x80x9cpackage,xe2x80x9d the size of the contents (i.e., the baby) does not change from time to time as the xe2x80x9cpackagexe2x80x9d is opened or closed.
An early xe2x80x9ctape-tabxe2x80x9d closure for non-flexible packaging was disclosed in the Hamaguchi U.S. Pat. No. 3,616,114 that was granted in 1971. This closure was used to fasten the stiff ends of a card board carton in xe2x80x9cbuttingxe2x80x9d relationship, and was attached to the movable end of the container.
In 1971, Gellert U.S. Pat. No. 3,620,271 disclosed a similar fastening for disposable baby diapers, with a further improvement disclosed in his U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,937 issued in 1972.
The baby diaper market was rapidly expanding in the early 1970""s, and Buell, in his U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,594, granted in 1974, showed how a xe2x80x9cY-formxe2x80x9d configuration of this tape-tab would provide a further improvement in the closing of a baby diaper product.
The re-closing of flexible packages or bags was considered as early as 1967 and disclosed in Perino U.S. Pat. No. 3,301,466 and with subsequent improvement such as that shown in Jaeger U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,895.
One of the earliest package-sealing devices was shown in Newman U.S. Pat. No. 2,153,310 on Apr. 4, 1939; but like all the others, the closure device was either secured to the movable end of the package or was intended to be fully removed therefrom during the re-sealing and re-closing process and re-applied similar to the application of a strip of Scotch-Tape.
During the later part of the 1970""s and early part of the 1980""s, the re-sealability in multiple-closures of many of these products became a critical commercial matter, and one of the improvements is disclosed in the Cronkrite U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,223 which issued on Nov. 10, 1981. It particularly discloses how a tape-tab with a portion thereof having multiple strips of adhesive can be designed to provide a closure member which is strong in shear but weak in peel strength.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,824,380 discloses a package reclosure label having a base label which is secured by a pressure-sensitive adhesive to the package. A Z-folded top sheet has a first panel permanently adhered to the upper surface of the base sheet. A second panel is folded over the first panel with an edge extending past the first panel that is releasably adhered to the base sheet, and a third panel folded back over the second panel and extending beyond the second panel to a tab which is resealably adhered to the package. The label can be opened or extended by lifting the tab off the package and breaking the releasable bond between the second panel and the base sheet. Multiple labels can be stored and shipped on a reel of release liner by adhering them to the release liner by the pressure-sensitive adhesive on the back of the base sheet and by the resealable adhesive on the back of the tab.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,434, also issued to Hagen, discloses a package reclosure label has a paper base label which is secured by a pressure-sensitive adhesive to the package. A tear resistant synthetic top sheet has a first end permanently adhered to the base sheet and extends beyond the far end of the base sheet to a second end which is secured by a resealable adhesive directly to the package. A generally unadhered central portion of the top sheet is also releasably adhered to the base sheet. The package is reclosed by folding over its open flap and adhering the first end of the top sheet to the flap. The labels are provided for application to packages side-by-side in multitude on a continuous release liner, with the pressure sensitive adhesive of the base sheet and the resealable adhesive of the second end of the top sheet mounting the labels to the liner in production of the labels and prior to application of the labels to packages.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,141 discloses a plastic sealing tape for resealable flexible packaging comprising a tape having a first section provided with a permanent high-tack adhesive, and a second section being provided with a low-tack adhesive and being folded onto itself with the interposition of a layer of silicone, the second section having a free end being adhesive free.
What is needed is a system and method which has an improved design features over the methods and systems of the past and which are easy to manufacture.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide an improved and simplified design for a package reclosure.
It is another object of the invention to provide a package reclosure having a single folded member which can be easily opened and used to seal a package.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a system and method having a folded member with a release liner thereon that can be easily removed in order to reclose the package.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a folded member having a release liner which is retained on the reclosure, or on the folded member, after the folded member is opened by the user.
In one aspect, this invention comprises a package reclosure comprising: a top layer having a first adhesive layer and a perforation; a folded substrate that is folded to define at least a first inward side and a second inward side and a first outward side and second outward side, the first and second outward sides being opposite the first and second inward sides, respectively; the first outward side being secured to the first adhesive layer; and a carrier substrate comprising a first side and a second side, the second side being secured to a first release liner with a second adhesive layer; the second inward side of the folded substrate comprising a third adhesive layer having a second release liner secured thereto; the folded substrate being folded such that the folded substrate can be unfolded when the perforation is broken to permit the release liner to be removed from the third adhesive layer to permit a user to reclose the package.
In another aspect, this invention comprises a package having an opening for receiving contents; a package reclosure positioned near the opening for reclosing the package; the package reclosure comprising: a top layer having a first adhesive layer and a perforation; a folded substrate that is folded to define at least a first inward side and a second inward side and a first outward side and second outward side, the first and second outward sides being opposite the first and second inward sides, respectively; the first outward side being secured to the first adhesive layer; and a carrier substrate comprising a first side and a second side, the second side being secured to a first release liner with a second adhesive layer; the second inward side of the folded substrate comprising a third adhesive layer having a second release liner secured thereto; the folded substrate being folded such that the folded substrate can be unfolded when the perforation is broken to permit the release liner to be removed from the third adhesive layer to permit a user to reclose the package.
In yet another aspect, this invention comprises a method for resealing a package comprising an opening through which contents may be placed in or removed from the package, the method comprising the steps of: situating a package reclosure having a perforation and positioned near the opening; and enabling a user to reclose the package by breaking the perforation, unfolding a folded substrate to expose an inward side of the folded substrate having a reclosure adhesive thereon, and repositioning the reclosure adhesive on the package to reseal the package.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.